May 5, 2020

NEW Petition to Shut Down TeenVogue.com for Encouraging Youth to Sect During COVID-19
 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! NEW PETITION ANNOUNCED TO SHUT DOWN TEEN VOGUE FOR ENCOURAGING YOUTH TO SEXT AND ENGAGE IN OTHER RISKY AND OFTEN ILLEGAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY DESPITE FBI WARNING OF POTENTIAL CORONAVIRUS-RELATED RISE IN CHILD EXPLOITATION

TAKE ACTION NOW! Editors Must Be Held Accountable for its History of Sexually Exploitative Articles and Dangerous Advice Aimed at ?its Teen and Tween Audience

Friends,

We need you to take immediate action, and we have two critical ways you can help!

Previously, we've asked you to "Say No To Teen Vogue" until they cleaned up their act. We'll, they haven't listened.

Today, Enough Is Enough® launched a NEW petition calling on Conde Nast to shut down its digital publication TeenVogue.com altogether for its long-term, reckless negligence evidenced in its sexually-exploitative articles encouraging its teen and tween audiences to engage in risky and often illegal sexual activity. Teen Vogue editors have repeatedly ignored public pleas to stop posting and remove explicit, sexualized content to its presumed "teen" demographic consisting of 13– 19 year olds. 

?As reported in the Daily Caller, Teen Vogue recently publicized its "sexting" articles on Snapchat's Discover Feature featuring photos including: "Sexting should make you feel good," and "How to Sext: The Best Tips and Tricks." In its "Dating and the Coronavirus" article which accompanied the photos, author Nona Willis Aronowitz stated, "There are all kinds of creative, fun ways to sext, if you're at that level."

The once trusted fashion and beauty teen publication of Conde Nast, Teen Vogue is now a parent's worst nightmare. 

Conde Nast executives must not ignore Teen Vogue's rogue ‘anything and everything goes’ sexually charged agenda which exploits the innocence and safety of youth, circumvents parental concerns and harms the Conde Nast brand. 

Teen Vogue is taking full advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting the dangerous activity of sexting to its underage readers who are using the internet now more than ever for school and play while hunkered down at home. When youth under the age of 18 years old send or post explicit or nude pictures or videos of themselves to others via cell phones, computers or social media, they may be liable under both state and federal laws child pornography laws. 

It is outrageous that a teen publication would prey on the vulnerabilities, sexual curiosities and peer pressures experienced by today's teens and tweens by encouraging its young readers to engage in potentially criminal behavior, putting them at greater risk of exploitation by sex traffickers and predators.

Depending on the circumstances, sexting may also be a federal crime under the PROTECT Act of 2003 which makes it illegal to produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to distribute any obscene visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. State sexting laws prohibit the sending and receiving of sexually explicit imagesSexting laws vary by state, and some states have adopted laws that prescribe penalties aimed specifically at teenagers or adolescents who send such photos. 

By encouraging its underage teen audience to engage in the risky behavior of sexting, TeenVogue.com, which boasts of 11.6M digital users and 13.4M social media followers, is placing youth at the following risks: 

  • Being prosecuted and/or convicted for the production and/or distributionof child pornography which can result in criminal charges, including the youth having to register as a sex offender for life.
  • Vulnerability to sex predators and sex traffickers who often disguise themselves as a peer and "friend" in an attempt to gain a youth's trust and groom him/her into sexual activity both online and offline.
  • The sexual images of youth can be used by both pedophiles and youth as tools of sextortionrevenge porn, and other forms of sexual exploitation and shaming, leading to life-long trauma and even suicide.
  • Unwelcome sexts may be experienced by the receiver as sexual harassment and have negative psychological consequences by both parties.

In January, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that self-generated imagery now accounts for almost a third of web pages featuring sexual images of children that they take down, and more than a third of those images feature 11 to 13-year-old children, of which the majority is girls.

Ironically, Teen Vogue's sexting articles were promoted at the same time the FBI issued a press release warning school closings due to COVID-19 present a potential for increased risk of child exploitation as students are spending more unsupervised time at home on computers.

Many of you were among the 46,000 concerned citizens who signed EIE’s 2017 petition, “Say No to Teen Vogue,” which launched in response to its jaw-dropping Anal Sex Guide which told its young readers who were "vagina owners" that "just because you have a vagina, does not mean anal is off-limits. The guide also had a special section on "the appeal of anal sex when you have a prostate." The article is still posted, and in fact, Teen Vogue retweeted it on Christmas Day 2019.

Even if you signed our first petition, we need you to sign the NEW petition to Shut Down Teen Vogue found here. Please, forward this e-mail or share it using the social icons below with your friends, family, co-workers ... anyone who will help put an end to this reckless digital publication!

On this special #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and unity in response to COVID-19, I hope you will consider making your most generous gift to help us in the fight to protect children online during these unprecedented times. 

Thank you for your continued support! We can't do this without you!

Donna Rice Hughes

President and CEO

Enough Is Enough®

P.S. - TeenVogue.com has not backed down from the public outrage and continues to publish graphic and outrageous articles to normalize potentially harmful activities for its minor readers including:

2020: "Dating and the Coronavirus: Can You Still Kiss, Have Sex, and Go on Dates During Social Distancing?" 

2019: "How to Sext Safely: When is it Safe to Send a Partner Nude Photos?"; "How To Have Queer Sex"; "How To Use Sex Magic To Manifest Your Best Self"; "How To Get An Abortion If You're A Teen"; "Oral Sex 101: Tips and Tricks for 'Going Down' and Staying Safe"; "Having Sex When You're Fat: Tips on Positions, Props, and Preparations"; and "Why Sex Work Is Real Work" 

2018: "Everything You Need to Know About Period Sex – All Your Questions Answered"; “What To Do When Your Partner Doesn't Want to Go Down on You"

2017: "How to Sext: The Best Tips and Tricks"; "How To Masturbate if you have a Penis – There's no Wrong Way to Self -Love"; "How To Masturbate if you have a Vagina –Step by Step"; “Anal Sex: What You Need to Know/How to Do it the Right Way”